In a joint operation against illegal wildlife trafficking, environmental authorities rescued 192 green iguanas that were being transported in inadequate conditions in the trunk of a bus in the state of Oaxaca. The operation was carried out on April 4 in the municipality of Matías Romero Avendaño, in the Isthmus of Tehuantepec region, during an inspection of a passenger bus from the Sur line that had departed from Coatzacoalcos, Veracruz, heading to Salina Cruz, Oaxaca. The iguanas were found inside 15 cardboard boxes stacked in the bus's trunk, confirming a transport that did not comply with wildlife transport regulations. According to the Federal Attorney for Environmental Protection (Profepa), upon arrival at the scene, 192 adult specimens of Iguana iguana were counted, of which 161 were alive and 31 had died, presumably due to stress and the overcrowded conditions in which they were being transported. After the seizure, technical personnel from Profepa evaluated the iguanas that remained alive. The animals exhibited behaviors characteristic of specimens recently captured in the wild, such as resistance to human contact and constant alertness, which indicated that they were not accustomed to human presence and had been removed from their natural environment shortly before they were detained. For this reason, and in coordination with elements of the Secretariat of National Defense (Sedena), the Secretariat of the Navy (Semar), and state authorities, the 161 live iguanas were immediately released into a deciduous lowland forest ecosystem with suitable conditions for shelter, food, and habitat to facilitate their reintegration into nature. The 31 iguanas that died during transport were not released but were given a controlled burial in accordance with established protocols to prevent sanitary risks derived from decomposition and possible foci of infection that could affect both the environment and nearby people. The Iguana iguana, known as the green iguana, is considered in Mexico under the Official Mexican Standard NOM-059-SEMARNAT-2010 in the category of Special Protection, which means that its exploitation, transport, and commerce are strictly regulated to prevent its indiscriminate exploitation. In addition, the species is listed in Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), which reinforces its protection against threats such as illegal trafficking.
